Life Cycle Assessment of Synthetic Methanol Production: Integrating Alkaline Electrolysis and Direct Air Capture Across Regional Grid Scenarios

A transition to low-carbon fuels is integral in addressing the challenge of climate change. An essential transformation is underway in the transportation sector, one of the primary sources of global greenhouse gas emissions. The electrofuels that represent methanol synthesis via power-to-fuel technology have the potential to decarbonize the sector. This paper outlines a critical comprehensive life cycle assessment for electrofuels, with this study focusing on the production of synthetic methanol from renewable hydrogen from water electrolysis coupled with carbon from the direct air capture (DAC) process. This study has provided a comparison of the environmental impacts of synthetic methanol produced from grids of five regions (India, the US, China, Switzerland, and the EU) with conventional methanol from coal gasification and natural gas reforming. The results from this impact assessment show a high dependency of environmental scores on the footprint of the grid. Switzerland, with its limited usage of fossil fuels in grid electricity, has shown the least environmental damage in most of the impact categories in comparison to more non-renewable grids like India and China. Interestingly, conventional methanol has proved to be more environmentally friendly when compared with non-renewable grids like India and China in most of the impact categories.